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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Surprise Candy Eggs

Looking for a fun (slightly messy, mildly complicated) Easter treat?

A chocolate egg...
jelly beans, a prize, and a joke inside...
that YOU made!

Kinder Eggs are a classic treat in Canada, where my husband is from. A chocolate egg, with white chocolate lining, and a plastic container with a game or small toy to build inside. That was my inspiration.

I wanted to make our own, Easter version of the traditional Kinder Egg, using colors like you would find in the plastic Easter eggs.

So here is how I did it... with some helpful tips I learned in the process.

That I wish I had known ahead of time!

That's always the way it goes, right?

Supplies Needed:

- Plastic Easter Eggs, large (you may choose to use an egg mold instead)

- Candy Melts, in various colors

- Candy Melts, in chocolate

- Wax Paper

- Vegetable Oil (however, I used canola since I didn't have veggie on hand)

Wash and dry your plastic eggs. Dip a napkin into oil and grease the inside of each half of the plastic eggs and set them onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Place the tray of eggs in the fridge to keep them cool.

Step 2

Melt 1/3 to 1/2 of a bag of your colored candy melts according to the package directions. When the candy is nice and smooth, use it to line the inside of your eggs. I found it worked best to place a heaping spoonful into each, and use the spoon to work it up around the sides.

I am using a baby spoon above, but later realized that the regular dining spoon worked best.

Once you have the egg shell lined with the candy, place it open-side down onto your wax paper. Place back in the fridge to allow it to set.

Note: I found that the colored melts took longer to set, and because of that, I ended up with a lot of candy seeping down onto the pan. See the images below. If you can catch the candy while it is starting to set, but not yet to hard, you can use a paring knife to trim away some of the excess candy without damaging the shell.

Step 3
Add a second coat of colored candy to each of your eggs. You will see (as in the image above) that you will have some thin spots that may need more of a coating. Return your eggs open-side down onto the wax paper, and into the fridge.

Step 4

Melt your chocolate candy melts according to the package directions. I found that the chocolate melts set a lot quicker than the colored candy melts, so keep this in mind! Use the chocolate to add a chocolate lining to each egg. Place open-side down onto your wax paper and allow to set.

Step 5

When your candy/chocolate inside each egg has completely set (I let mine sit over night, but that shouldn't be necessary), carefully remove each from their shells.

With three layers of candy, they were fairly thick. It did take a little effort to remove them all from the eggs, however. I think that having them at room temperature is key. I took mine from the fridge, and once they had warmed up a bit, they seemed to slide out much easier for me.

Ack! One I couldn't remove from the shell at all. Perhaps not enough oil in that one.

One was cracked in my effort to remove it from the shell. 2 out of 24... not bad!

Note: I'm not sure why (don't be fooled... I eat candy, but that doesn't make me a candy expert!) but the candy came out with a bit of a white/marbled look to it. If you know why this happens (maybe you could share your knowledge) perhaps you can avoid it? Me? I just went with it....

Step 6

Prepare the goodies you'll add inside!

My daughter found some jokes to write on little strips of paper. We rolled these up and added them with each little prize.

We then wrapped each prize and joke up into a little package using cellophane and tape. I found some little rings, shaped erasers, and finger lasers at Michael's that worked nicely.

Fill the larger side of each candy egg shell with your prizes and some small jelly beans.

Step 7
Melt a small amount of chocolate candy melts in a bowl, according to the package directions. Use a butter knife to add chocolate around the rim of the smaller candy egg shells.

Acting quickly, and careful not to dump the contents inside the larger half of the candy egg, place the two parts of the egg together.

I found it worked nicely here to use my finger and smooth the chocolate around the seam. If you have a napkin handy (or are ok with washing your hands between each egg... because you could SO use a few fingers to do this then lick each one clean... and I wouldn't blame you for doing so, because that is what I did!!!)

What was I saying??? ha ha.. Oh yes, you can keep a napkin handy to clean that horrible chocolate off your fingers after smoothing the seam on each.

That's it! You're done! How fun are these?

Wrap them up and give them a a gift, or toss a few in an Easter basket!

Hi Maja.. Yes, sorry. I stand corrected. I was only pointing out that they are a favorite IN Canada.. and a classic treat there, not that they are Canadian! :) My husband grew up in Canada and they were a special treat for him from a young age. I had never heard of them before moving to Canada myself . :)

I understand you husband. I looked forward to opening these treats every time, when I was a kid. My kids today has it the same way. The chocolate is good... but lets be frank, that is pretty lousy presents inside... ☺ And still that do not seem to matter ☺

My husband is from Bosnia, and enjoyed them there as a kid. Then move to Germany where he also loved them. I love this idea! I "might" have to try it, but it looks a little messy :)Did you know that you can buy these here too? They sell them at many international store, not sure where you live?good job though, you're more adventurous then me lol

I like the idea of making your own because like Maja said, you can put in much better prizes! Hmmm, now I'm thinking of these for Easter... :)For those looking for Kinder Eggs in the states, you probably won't be able to find them. They've been banned as a choking hazard. I guess they're one of the top confiscated things at the US/Canadian Border. Ha! Obviously the powers that be have never tried to open the plastic egg inside that holds the prize!As for the white marble, I think that's Chocolate bloom, which usually comes from chocolate that has been improperly stored (though I've had it happen after I've made something with perfectly fine chocolate too, but I *think* it's from the temp differences through the process of making the candy, but it doesn't always happen, so I don't know why).

Thanks so much for linking to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS... we are already enjoying a ton of recipes, so make sure to stop back by and see all the different CHOCOLATE recipes! It's gonna be one SWEET week of all CHOCOLATE!

The marbled look may be because you used oil on the inside, although I don't know why or how you could get around using it.

What about setting your eggs in a muffin tin right side up while you're waiting for them to set? And then, instead of putting them in the refrigerator, you can leave them out and while you are waiting, you can move the chocolate into the thin spots.

This is a really cool idea and I may need to try it. Thanks for sharing.

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Welcome!

Hi! I'm Rachel. I am thrilled to have you here. I am a crafty mom with a passion for teaching. You will find lots of inspiration on these pages, so give the kids a coloring book and take a look around!